WORKERS at Broadway furniture maker Gordon Russell have made some tough decisions about their future following an announcement in June of the company's move to Worcester.

Operations project manager Christian Parn said about 30 workers had decided to move with the company to Worcester and a handful had chosen to relocate to other parts of the country within the group.

Others, he said, had found other jobs in the Vale and some were already leaving to take up their new positions. Some left last Friday.

Mr Parn said: "There are about two vacancies to Worcester, which we are currently advertising, which have arisen where people have chosen not to go from Broadway to Worcester.

"Most of the workers have decided now what they are doing. The majority who are leaving left on Friday and we are ending up with about 30 at Worcester. Most who have other jobs are staying locally and a couple are relocating elsewhere."

The company announced on June 6 its plans to move to Blackpole Trading Estate in Worcester after falling sales for the company's mass-produced products - office desks and chairs - prompted a review.

The Gordon Russell name will now be retained for hand-crafted bespoke furniture at Worcester while the mass-produced items will be called Steelcase Wood and be managed from the Steelcase factory in Kent.

Mr Parn said the company's move was on course for the end of October or beginning of November and work was underway to fit the new Worcester factory to the exact specifications.

He said once the services such as electrical supplies were in place for the machinery, the actual move would probably take place over about two weeks.

Some of the mass production has already gone to Kent.

He said there was no news on the sale of the building. The company's priority is the move to Worcester. The future of the five-acre Broadway site, he said, would take a lot longer to resolve.